Seitchik, Daryl – Exits

March 11, 2025

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Exits

Did I pick a wildly unrepresentative sample image this time around? Kind of! If you read the book you’ll see why I decided to go that route. If you haven’t read it and you’re only continuing to read the review until I explain it (weirdo), it’s because the quiet sense of barely existing was difficult to convey on one page, as there was a slow build throughout the book. Maybe I should get into the book, huh? Things start off with Claire working in a mirror store, miserable and sick of her boss. Her life isn’t great, to put it mildly, until one day she’s chased down the street by a literal man-baby who has some definite bad intentions. She ends up fading away while escaping, which lets her get the upper hand on the guy… but it also leaves her completely invisible to the outside world. Everybody has their “what would I do if I was invisible” fantasies, right? Well, Claire spends a lot of time doing exactly what she wants to do, with the overall problem being that this all ends up with her even more isolated and alone than before. She is found out by a dog and bitten eventually, which at least helps the reader keep better track of where she is on the page (after she bandages her hand). We also get flashbacks to some of the events that led her to this state, and she does eventually make an attempt to go back to at least parts of her previous life. But how much can she really do if nobody can see her? The overwhelming feeling I got from this comic was “melancholy,” but it was also riveting, and it was entirely too easy to see that Claire didn’t have a lot of great options and was overall maybe better off as invisible. Still, “riveting” should be your takeaway from this review, and I was happy to see that Daryl has plenty of other comics available, so they’ll instantly go on my personal “hey dummy, don’t forget to check on this artist” list so I can periodically check to see what else they’ve been up to. You can buy a copy through the link on the title, or if you hurry (as of 3/11/25) it’s on sale at John Porcellino’s Spit and a Half shop for half off. Whatta deal! $15 (or $7.50 if you hurry)

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 3/7/25

March 7, 2025

New review today for “A Monty” by Zak Sally. Even though this was Spit and a Half week here, I bought enough comics from John’s shop that I’ll probably have at least a couple more of them. Why don’t you buy a bunch of comics from his store and see if you can guess which I bought and will be reviewing soon? What fun!

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Posted by Kevin

Sally, Zak – A Monty

March 7, 2025

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A Monty (link here to buy)

Is it really 13 years since I’ve reviewing one of Zak’s comics? That’s way too long. On his website he’s posted the whole thing for free (which I’ve linked here, along with a way to buy the physical copy, because it feels like one of those rare “drop what you’re doing and read this” comics), and before that he says that he’s been thinking about it for 15-20 years and that it’s not for the weak of heart. Accurate, but it’s also something that should be read far and wide. I thought it was going to be a comic about bullying from Zak’s childhood, and that’s technically accurate, but I was not expecting Zak to be one of the bullies. It’s a story about trying to fit in but also being content to stay away from the aggressors; Zak got tossed around a bit during their games but never seemed to be in serious physical danger. This is also a story of childhoods long ago, so for the younger readers when there were three channels and maybe that many radio stations, kids had to make up their own fun. This one is set in 1978, so well before, as Zak put it, we “cured boredom.” Anyway, Zak no longer had to worry about being picked on once Monty came onto the scene, as he was an older kid that rode a large tricycle, sang to himself as he rode and was most likely developmentally disabled. But that’s not the word people used in the 70’s, and in a really terrible history repeating itself way, not the word that the ruling party wants to use today. There’s nothing horrific, if you’re worried about this triggering anything from your own past, but Zak refuses to let himself off the hook for any of the taunting either, going as far to admit that people can convince themselves of just about anything in their own memory, especially when they were the one at fault. The end of the book, which is what elevated this from a very good to an excellent comic, deals with Zak growing up and discovering that the “adults in charge” were just nowhere to be found and that we’re all on our own. Terrifyingly timely, if you follow the news at all (or work for any part of the government and can’t help but follow current events because they involve your job/life). It’s a sobering, haunting read, and you should really either read it or buy it right now. Or both, if you can afford it. $8

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 3/5/25

March 5, 2025

New review for the collected edition of Cankor by Matthew Allison. This has been out for a few years and it feels like I’m late to the party, but oh, what a party it is.

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Posted by Kevin

Allison, Matthew – Cankor

March 5, 2025

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Cankor

Cankor! A creation like this has never been before, and most likely never will be again, unless Matthew has more like this in his system. It’s a singular vision, that’s for sure, even if the influences are clear (and clearly called out) by the artist at times. I read this a few days ago and have been puzzling over how to summarize this book ever since. I’ve failed! There’s just no way. First off, this is a collection of four comics (or at least four parts), covering a decade of Cankor. There’s no introduction, no afterward, no clue what you’re getting outside of what’s in the comic itself. The very first page might give you the idea that you’re about to read a superhero comic, sort of, although you can instantly tell that it’ll be different from that predictable norm. It’s titled “Van Halen Versus The Clash” (for seemingly no reason), and has a Cankor with a cape and one without a cape talking about the futility of trying to go back and change the past. Then the one with the cape forcibly transforms the other one, which is the one we follow for the rest of the book. Sometimes. Unless he’s killed by another Cankor. Ugh, this really isn’t conveying how transfixed I was by this whole book. There are fights, but no real beefs that seem to be driving them, or at least not consistent ones. There’s disfigurement and mauling, but none that seem to stick, and even when they do there’s always another Cankor around the corner. Why are they fighting? Who’s winning? And now we’re taking a break to see the artist explain that he has no excuse for not starting to make comics until he was almost in his 40’s. Or the brief scene at a convention, or the nicely done King Cat parody, or sweet Jesus the body horror. So much body horror. And the language! This man seemingly puts poetry into the rage and mayhem, but also in the quiet moments; this was absolutely a book where I’d have preferred to put up about 40 sample images. It feels like a book where you could open it up anywhere and read a few pages, then go somewhere else and repeat the process, until you’ve read the whole book. Would it be a greater or lesser experience? Or just different? Look, I hadn’t heard of this book at all, and at $35 (although it’s on sale for $30 as of this writing), it was my riskiest pick from the latest haul from Spit and a Half. It’s also one of the best things I’ve read this year, even if my words are a poor vehicle to convey why exactly that’s the case. Cankor! $35

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 3/3/25

March 3, 2025

So I do this thing after every tax return where I spend a chunk of change at one of the small press comics distros, and this year is no exception. This week I’m reviewing comics from Spit and a Half, John Porcellino’s long time distro operation/website. Why don’t you do the same thing and buy a bunch of comics from the man if you can afford it? Times are tough out there. New review today for Senior Time by Kelly Froh!

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Posted by Kevin

Froh, Kelly – Senior Time

March 3, 2025

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Senior Time

I’ve been thinking I should do this for years, and maybe it’ll actually happen some day: I really need to set up some kind of reminder system to check in on the artists I like every year or so. Sometimes I remember naturally! Sometimes I stumble across a comic while buying other comics to remind me. And this one is from 2016! Anyway, this is my usual long-winded way of saying that I’ve always enjoyed Kelly’s comics and this one is no exception. It’s a mini comic with a lot going on, as Kelly starts off by saying that she’s a failure in many ways because she’s been laid off from several jobs. Which is a horrible way to determine whether or not you’re a loser (probably the happiest years of my life were when I was working different temp jobs until I got sick of them, quitting, then just living my life until I had to do it all again), but it sets the tone for a switch in Kelly’s life. She set up her own small business where she’d spend time with senior citizens, helping them with various tasks and just being around for them. She also spent lots and lots of hours setting up art shows, so that’s two things that are significantly more worthwhile in the big picture than various office jobs. Leaving out the whole “needing to pay the bills” aspect, which is always hanging over all of our heads, but it seems like she’s making it work. There are also a lot of short anecdotes and conversations, with an ending that made me feel actual emotions, so kudos to Kelly/shame on her for such a thing. It’s a hell of a comic, and here’s hoping that I actually remember to go back and buy some of her newer comics when I get my next paycheck. $6

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 2/24/25

February 24, 2025

New review today for Infinite Wheatpaste Volume 1 by L. Pidge, and I think I may have botched my plan to only review non-American comic artists this month. L. is currently living in Colorado, but her use of “colour” (and her inclusion on a mostly UK publishing website) fooled me. Let’s just say that she moved to the States recently, yeah? It might even be true for all I know! Oh, and in general, it’s election time, and yes, even teeny tiny elections take a lot of put on, so this might be it for reviews for the month. We’ll see!

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Posted by Kevin

Pidge, L. – Infinite Wheatpaste Volume 1

February 24, 2025

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Infinite Wheatpaste Volume 1

Ugh, my apologies for the lousy scan of the sample image, I tried it a few times and it just couldn’t be made clear with my scanner. But if you’re looking for sample images, L.’s website is chock full of them, so maybe go there? This is a behemoth of a collection of the first nine issue of L.’s Wheatpaste comic (I’ve seen it as one word everywhere I’ve looked, so that’s what I’m sticking with), and it feels like the kind of thing that I should really sit with and contemplate for a few days, but guess what? There’s an election this week (as of February 2025, we still have those in America, although y’all should keep checking back about that), meaning I’m swamped at my job, meaning that I can either write this review now or in a week or so. So you’re getting my nonsense ramblings, fresh off of reading the book! In other words, if you’d prefer to back away slowly and check out L.’s website instead, I will hold no grudges. Like I said, this book covers her first nine issues, and judging from her website she’s up to #16 as of this writing, so another volume will most likely be coming along sooner or later. Which is good news, because I have many questions. This starts off with a page of the important characters and brief bios, which was helpful, but it didn’t take long before there were more important characters than there were bios. Each issue mostly followed either one main character or a series of characters (sometimes for one issue, sometimes for a few), and figuring out how all of these people tie together is still sometimes a bit of a mystery. In the first issue we get a sad and injured god taking a heroic and fatal stand, in the second and third issues we have Soe (who has a lot of trouble just keeping track of her own reality) trying to make a connection amidst all of her chaos, the fourth starts a storyline with Groob in space, and there’s no way I’m going to make any sense of this if I try describing it in a linear fashion like this. Look, the important thing to realize is that this is an alien, futuristic society, and damned near every page has something completely alien in the background that gets your attention. Not, “huh, that looks weird I guess” level of alien, more of a “I’m instantly curious about the entire backstory for that creature” level of alien. If you’ve read my reviews over the years at all you know that’s my preference; convince me that you’ve thoroughly thought through this alien world/future and you’re already 90% of the way to winning me over. There’s so much strange in here that I hardly know where to begin. Soe falling through the ice even though she knows it’s going to happen, Groob hooking up with that alien, the thin mints, the cloned clone and his son, poor doomed Jeff, the “cats” under the trailer, OT 15 and his simple desire to be able to smile; the more I think about this book, the more layered it becomes. She also includes a foreward, afterward and several knitting patterns, with fascinating information in each of them, and that comes from somebody who doesn’t knit. When I Googled L. I noticed her name pop up on the Cartoon Crossroads Columbus page, so here’s hoping that refers to current events and she’ll show up there this year. This book is a freaking journey, and I’d highly recommend that you all take it too. $20 (ish, don’t make me try to convert currency)

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 2/12/25

February 12, 2025

New review today for Outer Wilderness by Claire Scully, which only leaves one book left for me to review from my Avery Hill Publishing pile, but it’s a big one. Oh, and I forgot to mention that Rob Jackson (from Monday’s review) is doing a sale of his comics on his website, which is only for people in the U.K., but if that’s you… what a deal!

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Posted by Kevin

Scully, Claire – Outer Wilderness

February 12, 2025

Website

Outer Wilderness

Well, I’ve got a “good news, bad news” type of situation in regards to this comic. The bad news (which is what I always ask for first) is that this comic doesn’t appear to be available on the Avery Hill Publishing page. The good news is that this comic is the third part of a three part series, and that entire story IS available on their website, with the link provided on the comic title. So that way you don’t have to be like me, reading only the third of three parts, and can instead read the whole thing. So what did I get out of this book, reading only the end of it? First I should mention what it is, in Claire’s own words: “A sequence of events occurring over an unimaginable period of time in the vastness of space.” It’s what appears to be images of the same location, with each page being a silent image, but as if each image was a picture that was taken millions of years after the previous image. Honestly, if I’d had to guess I wouldn’t have thought that it would work as well as it does, but it absolutely does work. Based on some of the preview images for the collected edition I’m guessing it does touch on human history here and there in previous volumes, but by the third volume humans are long gone and we’re seeing a dead planet. Or is it just life that we don’t recognize? That’s where you come in, reader! There are all kinds of gorgeous images in here, and I loved how completely alien she made several of them look. Which is kind of the point, granted, but not everybody can pull that kind of thing off. Check out the completed edition why don’t you? Don’t be a dummy like me and only get part of the story.

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 2/10/25

February 10, 2025

New review today for Crowthorn: A Village Built By Orphans by Rob Jackson. Hey, as international comics month is still ongoing (at this website, anyway), if you live outside of the U.S., why not send me some of your comics to review? Or maybe even a local comic that you enjoyed but think that I might not otherwise see? If I get it soon I’ll review it this month, if it doesn’t make it here by the end of February then I’ll just review it later. My address is on the side bar, and if I get enough of them to make it possible after the end of the month, I’ll just do another “no comics from the continental U.S.” month soon. What fun!

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Posted by Kevin

Jackson, Rob – Crowthorn: A Village Built By Orphans

February 10, 2025

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Crowthorn: A Village Built by Orphans

Rob’s back with another of his comics without word bubbles, which is a terrible way to describe his historical travelogue comics, but it is also technically accurate. This time around he took a walking tour around Crowthorn, which is near Bolton in the UK (I’m shamelessly stealing that from Rob’s description), and like in his previous travelogue comic, Rob provides the history of the area during his tour. It’s fascinating and more than a little grim; the subtitle of the comic is literal. But in a “for the best of intentions” sort of way, if that helps? The full story is in here, obviously, but for review purposes I’ll do my best to sum up a bit. Rob goes into detail about the man who purchased the property back in the 1800s and how it eventually got settled in 1872, by a married couple and 24 orphan children. This man (Alfred Mager) didn’t see a reason to hire people to do the work that the children could do, so they worked under some brutal conditions for years to clear out and then build up the area. There was at least one mutiny due to the working conditions, but the general “tough love” idea of the place was to give these kids practical skills that they could use in the real world when they grew up. Was that a balance that we’d have today? Exactly like this, absolutely not. Anyway, the school was eventually opened, improvements were made throughout the years, and there are many more details that I see no reason to spoil for anybody actually interested in the history. It’s a completely different place now, as Rob’s walking tour thoroughly illustrates. I don’t know if this is the general direction that Rob’s comics are going these days or if it’s just A direction, but both of these comics have been fascinating, and that’s coming from someone with no idea of the layout of the area and very little idea of the history. I hope he’s selling these things locally so people can learn more about their history, in convenient comics form. $10 (ish?)

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 2/6/25

February 6, 2025

New review today for Goathearded by Charlo Frade. Both of the comics this week come from a sale I took advantage of from Avery Hill Publishing last year, which is a South London publishing company with all kinds of comics that look like they’re worth checking out. I have a couple more to talk about next week, meanwhile you should try some for yourselves. The Impending Blindness of Billie Scott is one that I could have sworn I already reviewed here, but a quick search here says that I did not. Huh.

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Posted by Kevin

Frade, Charlo – Goathearded

February 6, 2025

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Goathearded

Sitting down to write this review right after reading this comic has the effect of making it feel like I’m still in a dream. Maybe I should give it some time to settle? Eh, best to ride that feeling. So right away it’s clear that if you’re looking to get off of this planet for a bit, this comic is a good place to start, eh? It’s probably best not to write this like it’s analogous to our own reality, but I’ll give it a shot. First there’s nothing, then something, then several people fall from the sky encased in what looks like gelatin cubes. It seems like many are content to stay there, but one of them lands near a flower, pushes his way out, and meets the creator of the universe. Or at least somebody who seems to have some answers. These answers may be more questions, and there may be conditions placed on these answers. Still, what would an origin of the species story be without the protagonist eating something that he probably shouldn’t? This, as it must, leads to a polka dot onesie. From there a sleeping pegasus is seen in the distance, and a creature as curious as this one is obligated to check it out. This pegasus allows him to fly, but is this a good idea? How much wisdom is really out there? This is a damned fine comic, with maybe more questions than answers, and an ongoing question of whether or not the creatures who think they know what they’re doing actually know anything. But isn’t that always the way? $10 (ish, once again I don’t know currency rates)

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 2/4/25

February 4, 2025

Since this is apparently “let’s declare a trade war on our closest allies” week, I’ve decided to review comics that aren’t from America this month. Do I have enough comics to keep that promise? Let’s find out together! New review today for The Hard Switch by Owen D. Pomery (South London, if you’re curious).

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Posted by Kevin

Pomery, Owen D. – The Hard Switch

February 4, 2025

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The Hard Switch

If you want to keep my interest in any sort of science fiction or fantasy comic (as I am aged and jaded), it helps to have one heck of a premise to start with. This one certainly has that covered, as the central conceit is that there’s a finite resource that allows faster than light space travel, that resource is about to run out, and everybody has to figure out where they want to be when that happens. Some people have the resources to make that choice for themselves, some don’t and are having that choice made for them. We’re following a small crew of scavengers who are trying to find scraps of this material in shipwrecks while still managing to get to where they’d like to end up when it all runs out. Naturally, there are other scavenging crews with the same idea, and things tend to get a bit tense at times (as that sample image may indicate). Still, an interesting concept isn’t going to take you very far if there’s no character work, but Owen has that covered too. In the space of about a dozen pages we get a solid idea of the two human characters and the octopus (ish) alien in the crew, and it’s hard not to get instantly invested in their struggle. He also does an excellent job of world-building, although I guess universe-building may be more accurate, along with the changing attitudes of the people doing business with each other. There’s a glimmer of hope to the whole thing as well, as there might be another option for travel. All they have to do is convince one of the richest people in the galaxy that it’s best to share it for little to no profit of his own. If you’re in America at the moment, you can probably already guess how that’s likely to go. This read like a self-contained graphic novel for most of it, but by the time all is said and done (without spoilers), it would be a shame if this is the end of the story. This is the first book I’ve read of Owen’s, but after this one I’m hoping to go back and see what else he’s come up with. That man can tell a hell of a story. $20ish (UK prices, don’t ask me to convert such things)

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 1/31/25

January 31, 2025

New review today for Plastic People #16-18 by Brian Canini. Didn’t I say that I was going to check and see if I’ve reviewed more of Brian’s comics that anybody else on this website? Eh, one of these days…

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Posted by Kevin

Canini, Brian – Plastic People #16-18

January 31, 2025

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Plastic People #16-18

The link goes to the collected edition of these three comics for the sake of simplicity, but you can always get the individual issues from Brian’s website instead. Aren’t I helpful? These three work really well together, as they’re very focused on the police response to the serial killer on the loose. #16 is basically a chase comic, as Facelift calls the cop who made fun of him to try to explain why he’s doing what he’s doing, and the whole time the cops are trying to triangulate his location. I say that like I know what it means, but it’s on cop shows, so something like it must be real. Do they find him? Since there are two more issues to go in this review, I’d say it’s not looking good. #17 deals with the cop in question getting a gun sent to him in the mail from the killer, and another characters tries to find a church that’s right for them. Churches in this series don’t match many churches from our reality, so it’s a bit of a struggle. Finally #18 gets to the funeral for the city council member who was killed several issues back, with a grim and moving eulogy from his partner. The transition to the next scene actually got an audible chuckle out of me, so I’m not going to spoil it, but I feel safe saying that I’ve read enough to Brian’s comics to think that that was his intent. So overall the series is still moving right along, and I’d still recommend grabbing a compendium or two to see if it’s your thing. Will I ever catch up to him in these reviews? I’m only four issues behind now, so I live in hope. $4.99 (or $2 per issue)

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Posted by Kevin

Update for 1/29/25

January 29, 2025

New review today for Adventures in Gondwanaland by Maryanne Rose Papke. Her triumphant return to the website!

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Posted by Kevin

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